Lab records
We recreate broken-site reports from public forums on our own test servers, run each one through the recovery station the way a customer would, and record the outcome for every failure type across four server setups and each connection mode.
Latest outcome for each failure type on each server setup
Each cell shows the latest run for that failure type on that server setup, per connection mode. Click an outcome to open the case record. A dash means no run yet. For any run that did not end in "recovered", the gap, and the version that fixed it once there is one, are on the case page.
| Problem type | nginx + PHP-FPM | Apache + PHP-FPM | Apache + mod_php | Apache + php-cgi (mod_cgid) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WordPress core files corrupted/tampered | SSH · RecoveredFTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Plugin/theme syntax error causing white screen | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Broken theme | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · RecoveredFTP · RecoveredWP admin · — | SSH · RecoveredFTP · RecoveredWP admin · — | SSH · RecoveredFTP · RecoveredWP admin · — |
| Stale cache files causing errors | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| File permission errors | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| .htaccess corruption (404/500) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · RecoveredFTP · RecoveredWP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Incorrect PHP configuration (.user.ini) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · RecoveredFTP · RecoveredWP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Scheduled tasks piled up and not running (cleanup) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Mismatched table collations | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Broken URL settings (redirect loops / all images broken) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Insecure links left in content ("Not secure" warnings / broken images after moving to SSL) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Wrong upload path (broken media library images) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Database schema version behind | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Expired transients piling up and slowing the site | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| All inner pages 404 after migration (stale permalink rewrite table) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Bloated scheduler table slowing the whole site (duplicate/flood events; completed store jobs never purged) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Leftover object-cache config crashing the site | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Out-of-memory white screen | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| White screen/500 fatal error (plugin conflicts, PHP incompatibility) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Database bloat (revision pileup / spam comments) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Roles/permissions corrupted, admin login blocked | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Locked out of login by a security plugin | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
| Editor cannot save (REST API blocked or its response polluted) | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — | SSH · —FTP · —WP admin · — |
RecoveredA case was opened, the health check listed this problem, the recovery passed the re-check (homepage, sampled inner pages, page assets), was written back and passed the check after write-back (in WP admin mode, the recovered package was delivered), and every item in the recovery report was completed.
Declined at the pre-payment checkThe pre-payment check did not let the site in. No case was opened and nothing was charged.
Not detectedA case was opened, but the health check did not list this problem.
Not recoveredThe health check listed the problem, but the recovery could not be completed as defined in Article 9(5) of the Terms of Service. The recovery fee is refunded in full; the refund is carried out automatically by the system, with no request needed.
Case did not completeA case was opened but did not reach the health check or the recovery (for example, copying the site stalled). The health check fee is refunded in full, automatically.
ClearedIn a capability sweep, the planted fault for this problem type was gone after write-back.
Still presentIn a capability sweep, the planted fault for this problem type was still present after write-back. A gap row explains it.
Cases
- Fatal error in the active theme: HTTP 500 on the homepage and the login page
- Invalid line in .htaccess after a plugin update: HTTP 500 on every page
- .user.ini points auto_prepend_file to a missing file: HTTP 500 after a move
- Core update stopped partway: HTTP 500 on the homepage and the login page
These are records from our test servers, for a given product version on a given day. They are not a promise about the result on any site. Other hosts, PHP versions, and WordPress versions can behave differently.